I didn't realize saying "I'm the landlord" or "I'm the lawyer" allows people to walk into an active crime scene. A suggestion to any aspiring screenwriters: If you want to write about something you don't have personal experience with, there is no shame in doing research. It might make the story more believable.

Right from the stylish opening credits (which reminded me of 1963's Charade), this is a stylish, compelling and ultimately very satisfying thriller. It certainly kept me entertained and guessing until the end, mainly because it works on so many levels. Largely, this is due to the quality of the script, which twists and turns brilliantly, without ever losing sight of characters to care about. But mention should also be made of the direction, which is so assured (the movie looks absolutely stunning) and the performances of the cast. Some murder mysteries take an age to get going, but what is particularly impressive about Kiss Me, Kill Me is that it hits the ground running from the outset, and doesn't slacken. Not once was I bored, or looking at my watch. For me, this was one of the unsung gems of the year. Highly recommended.

Director/Writer/Actor/Producer Casper Andreas (Flatbush Luck, 2016) continues to provide the LGBTQ community with an array of films. Here, "Kiss Me, Kill Me" stars Gale Harold (Queer as Folk) as a horn-dog reality TV guru who's found dead after his latest lover Van Hansis (As the World Turns 2005-2010) threatens him, then blacks out. As with many of Andreas' films, he once again wears of too many hats and "toss everything at the storyline hoping something good will happen," and it doesn't! As a gay filmmaker, and actor in general, Andreas should know that the viewing audience (gay or straight) deserves more than the typical bitchy drag queen, bitter lesbians, corny murder suspect, over acting, the occasional shirtless guy and/or familiar gay male personalities (Jai Rodriquez - Queer Eye for the Straight Guy 2003- 2007), and a cheesy storyline. Sharing the blame here is the equally weak writing of David Michael Barrett (Such Good People 2014), who provides all the actors with little to work with and nothing to ground there characters in. Andreas can make a film, he's proving that. What he needs to make is films more widely appreciated is to surround himself with less "Yes" people and more creative types who will help him step away from his projects and look at the bigger picture. It "Killed" me to sit through the whole film.

I don't rehash plots in reviews: you can easily find it by either reading other reviews of the summation at the top of the page. Let's just get to the film itself.The main character is a bit of a mess, but part of that may be because it's difficult to assess exactly how much time has transpired in this film. At some points it feels like it takes place over just a few days, while in others a few weeks. If the former, it makes this seem more like a Hitchcock film, where everyone, from the jilted ex (or is he?) to the baby-desperate lawyer (or is she?) to the hypno-therapist (or is he?) is trying to set this guy up. Think "North by Northwest", done on a smaller, more indie budget. No wonder he's such a basket case by the end, thoroughly convinced that he has indeed murdered... well, someone. But here's the thing: after a while, you just don't care — and not for the reason you might think. You don't care because you're just having such a grand time trying to keep up with all the plot twists and turns. Maybe the jilted ex did it — whoops, no, because now he's dead. The guy who shot the TV producer? Well, now he's dead too — and we're only two thirds of the way through. The central character is hauled in for questioning on numerous occasions and finally leaves one session thoroughly disgusted... only to have the camera cut to the lawyer's sudden, enigmatic smile. Then there's the therapist, with an unstated agenda of his own, the drug-dealing best friend who looks like another possibility, and finally the tag team lesbians who manage to muddy the waters even more. So many people to keep track of!But it's great fun: very well written (Actually North by Northwest written by Feydeau). and, for the most part, well acted and directed. The camera work was not the best, moving into the trite on too many occasions, and the eternally young, WeHo nature of the cast was a tad too relentless (My personal favourite laugh line came when the jilted ex hooks up with the therapist — yes, it's the kind of film where everyone is getting it on with almost everyone else — and dismisses him by saying he should look for someone "your own age"... which may have been about 25.Still, see it. It's totally mindless fun.